Religion

Challenges for Prayer

The Lutheran and Reformed Churches have been in declinefor decades. A year which passes without numerical decrease is seen as a victory. Formalism and tradition have little attraction for the younger generation. There are a number of Bible-believing pastors, but nominalism is as common as in the Catholic Church. Pray for ABCÖ and PGB, two groups of evangelical pastors and lay leaders seeking to deepen spiritual life and combat theological liberalism within the Lutheran Church. Pray too for a move of the Spirit of God that makes these churches a force for the evangelization of the land.

Almost all church growth occurs within evangelical/charismatic churches.Pentecostal churches nearly doubled between 2000 and 2010. Even so, all evangelicals number only 0.5% of the population. Pray for further multiplication of congregations where the Lord Jesus Christ is proclaimed and honoured. Pray also for the efforts of theRunde Tisch(WdV) working across all Christian blocs, as well as the Evangelical Alliance (ÖEA) and the Fellowship of Evangelical Congregations in Austria (ARGEGÖ). Their work is vital in bringing cooperation and partnership to the diverse Christian framework.